


Merrily, Merrily

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Gen, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-09-01
Updated: 2003-09-01
Packaged: 2019-04-27 06:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14419275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived atSpooky Awards, and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address onSpookyAwards' collection profile.





	Merrily, Merrily

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

Merrily, Merrily

## Merrily, Merrily

### by Gina Rain

Title: Merrily, Merrily  
Author: Gina Rain Category: UST  
Rating: R   
Spoilers: The Unnatural  
Archive: Sure.  
Summary: I'm leaving it out. Just go with the whole story and trust me on this one.  
Disclaimer: The X-Files belongs to a whole bunch of people. I'm not one of them.  
Thank you: To my wonderful beta, Sybil. Thanks a million!  
Special Dedication: To Sallie--who is so loving and supportive to everyone--she deserves a little something to cheer her during her recovery. This is my contribution, sent with love. 

XXX Row, row, row your boat XXX 

The room looked like the one they had just checked out of: faded walls, faded bedspread, ugly country landscape hanging slightly askew above the bed. Broken air conditioner. 

It was a standard issue cheap motel room in the middle of nowhere. 

As she fiddled with the knobs and dials of the broken AC unit, she let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper. All the fiddling in the world wouldn't change the fact that the machine would provide no relief on this sweltering August night. 

"There's more than one way to chill out, Scully." 

_Chill out_. She would have hoped Mulder would have stopped using that expression along with the rest of the world. Sometime in the 1980s? She couldn't remember. 

While she tried to recall the expiration date of the slang expression, she felt her partner slip her jacket off her shoulders. She heard it fall somewhere. The location didn't matter. It couldn't be worn again without dry cleaning anyway. 

A warm hand pressed against her back. She shivered in discomfort as the wet silk of her blouse, combined with the damp elastic at the back of her bra, sent a sticky reminder of just how humid the night had become. She stepped away from the touch. 

XXX Gently down the stream XXX 

She turned to look at him. His jacket and tie were history. The crisp white shirt still looked crisp--even though the top three buttons were undone and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to just below his elbow. There was not so much as a single wrinkle in his charcoal gray pants. 

She smiled internally. 

The cool drink of water in her room was raising the already unbearable temperature up another notch. 

"Come here," he said in much the same fashion he had used when he once held a bat and gave her an extremely early birthday present. She had known she was in for trouble but had trusted him and went. Very clear signals had been sent out and received that evening. Mulder's erection had pressed into her back and when she shifted just a bit, the only thing he had said was "ignore it." And, of course, Mulder being Mulder and Scully being Scully, they both did. 

She thought about it later. The fact he had been aroused was undeniable. The fact he acknowledged it was unavoidable. The fact he asked them both to forget about it was both unnatural, yet completely right. Given the confines of their relationship, it was the only thing to do. 

For one evening, they enjoyed the heady excitement of holding and being held. They didn't delve into deeper issues, or take drastic steps. They just enjoyed the warmth and the laughter without thought of going any further. 

Scully didn't know what he was asking her to do now. It didn't matter. She still went willingly. 

She stopped when she was an arm's length away from him. He moved just a tiny bit closer and put his hands on her waist, untucking her blouse from her skirt. This was not what she expected. 

"Mulder ... " 

He didn't respond to the warning tone in her voice, choosing instead to undo the buttons of her blouse-- working his way from the bottom up. 

She should stop him. She knew she should, but the blouse was wet and disgusting against her skin and she wanted it off. She sighed in relief as she heard it plop on the floor. She made a mental note to herself: Dry silk floated. Wet silk plopped. Who knew? 

Fingers were pulling down the side zipper of her skirt. She hadn't given much thought to all the layers there. Skirt, hose, underwear. He hooked his fingers in the top two layers and began to pull them down. She reached out a hand to grab his shoulder as he pulled them off, grabbing and tossing her shoes on the way. 

"Better?" he asked, straightening up and reaching around her to unclasp her bra. Her arms automatically crossed in front of her chest. 

"No. Mulder ... " The warning tone was back even while she was thinking of how good it would feel to have that wet blend of elastic and lace off her body. 

"I've _seen_ you naked, Scully. You've seen me." 

"Yes, but it was during extreme circumstances." 

"Well, it's _extremely_ hot." 

And her bra hit the floor. Her panties soon followed. And he stood there, fully dressed in front of her completely naked body. She wasn't one bit cooler. She was exposed in ways that went far beyond a simple lack of clothing. There was naked and there was _naked_. She knew without looking that her nipples were behaving as if she had gone topless in Antarctica. Well, that was a bad example. Perhaps Mulder had been right after all. Perhaps it was just more of the same old, same old. But there was also a full body blush to accompany the nipple action, and she could feel moisture in the only area that had been relatively dry before Mulder had started to strip her. None of these things happened when she stripped down for a Gyn visit. 

Far worse than her own exposure was her total inability to read his expression--or lack thereof. He didn't move, didn't touch her and there was no expression on his face. 

"There's a pool ... " he said and she headed for the bathroom to grab a towel before he could say another word. 

XXX Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily XXX 

All inhibitions left when Scully found herself floating naked in a motel pool. She didn't worry about sanitary conditions or risk of widespread exposure, should the other patrons of the motel also decide to choose this way to cool off. She just reveled in the cool water tossing around the strands of her hair--like a fiery halo--and the water slipping through her fingers as she gently lapped at it with her hands. 

And then he was there, standing in the pool by her feet. The water was up to his bare shoulders. He wrapped his hands around her ankles and gently spread them apart. She felt the incredible sensation of moisture both running in and rushing out. She closed her eyes and dipped her head further back. When she opened her eyes again, he was not there. 

She broke out of her floating position and began treading water as she looked around. 

There he was, sitting on the top stair of a concrete staircase leading from the pool. He leaned back slightly, his arms against either side of the railing. 

His face was still a portrait of neutrality, but once again, his body betrayed him. And this time, it was not going to be easy to "ignore it." She was in the middle of the pool, treading water and staring at his naked body. Actually, staring at his erection. Straight, proud, impressive. 

"Come here, Scully," he said. 

As always, she went. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as each stroke led her closer to him. 

And then he reached down and put his arms under hers and lifted her out of the water and onto his lap. She spread her legs until they enclosed his, and supported herself again with one hand on his shoulder. With the other, she reached down and positioned him where she wanted him. She closed her eyes and began the slow, excruciating slide down. 

"Mulder," she said, as he began to fill her and she accompanied her one-word sentence with a moan. 

XXX Life is but ... XXX 

"Scully." 

She heard herself say something and moan before her eyes opened. Heat. Intense heat. Damn, it was hot. And sticky. But not in a good way. Not at all. 

She opened her eyes. Mulder's hand was on her right cheek, pushing her face away from the car window. The one which had stuck three-quarters of the way down and she had been sleeping against for the better part of the last two hours. 

"Ah, Scully. That's gotta hurt," he said as he gently stroked the indentation the window had left across her cheek. She heard him unstrap the seat belt and felt it pull away from her body. 

She felt like she was in a sauna. Everything was foggy and heated. She looked around. There was no motel in sight. No pool. Just Mulder and Scully in a rental car without air conditioning. A rental car with a broken window that could go up but not down. She knew that much. If she concentrated, it would all come back to her. 

She focused. They were in front of her apartment building after a long ride back from a case in upstate New York. The pool had been a dream. Perhaps if she just closed her eyes, she could quickly finish the dream before going upstairs. 

"Come on, rise and shine, Scully. Okay, scratch the shine part but at least rise." 

She could feel him hovering over her, still trying to stroke life back into her half-numb face. It was too hot to hover and all she could look forward to was the nasty pins and needles sensation when the circulation returned. She hated that feeling. 

Damn him. 

He took her from the cool water of the pool. From a warm summer breeze and hot pulsing life within her. With dream Mulder, she could look forward to an earth shattering orgasm. That was a sensation she liked very much, thank you. 

"Scully ... " 

There was a mild warning tone in his voice. 

"Shut up, Mulder. I'm sleeping." 

"You were in the middle of a nightmare, Scully. Come on, it's hotter than hell in here. The faster I take you upstairs, the faster you can cool off." 

_Nightmare_? 

She had heard herself moan as she felt dream Mulder enter her. She could feel herself being filled by him. Felt the thick, hot slide ... she supposed a moan like that could have sounded like a nightmare. 

Her eyes snapped open and she swatted his hand away and reached for the door handle. 

She was fully awake before her body hit the warm DC air. That's all she needed. She had been known to come in her sleep. Fairly rarely, but it had happened. Mulder might not have much luck spotting aliens but he sure as hell came close to being Johnny on the spot for this event. 

He followed her up the stairs, annoyingly poking her after every three steps to ask her if she was still awake. It got stale after the first time. 

"It's the heat, Mulder. I just fell into a really deep sleep. Stop that." 

"Well, I'm sorry about the air conditioning. I really thought it would be much cooler once the sun went down. If I had any idea, I would have insisted on another rental." 

"It's okay. I would have done the same thing," she lied. 

They walked through the door and Scully made a bee-line for the thermostat. She turned it down and heard it kick in immediately. 

"Just a few minutes, Mulder, and we'll be fine. Why don't you sit down and cool off for a while before hitting the road? I'll just change my clothes and we can have something to drink." 

"Take a shower, Scully. You've got cable and air--one more luxury than my apartment currently has. I'll be more than entertained until you come out." 

She smiled and went straight to the bathroom. 

XXX ... A Dream XXX 

She walked out of her bedroom ten minutes later feeling much better. She was in a tee shirt and shorts and felt cool, calm and relaxed. Dream Mulder was back where he belonged--somewhere deep in her subconscious only to be released on hot, sweaty nights when the frustration of not being able to cool off invited other frustrations out for a pity party. 

She opened the door and stopped. Mulder was standing over a vent--his wet and wrinkled white shirt open and flapping in the cool breeze blowing from the air conditioning. His eyes were closed and the half smile on his face was as near to rapturous as anything she had previously seen in his limited repertoire of expressions. 

The smiled faded and she knew he sensed her presence. Mulder opened his eyes and pulled the flaps of his shirt together. A sheepish look crossed his face. 

"For the record, Scully, you did _not_ just catch me in the middle of intimate relations with your AC unit." 

"I know that. I can recognize afterglow when it's staring me in the face." 

He shrugged and smiled and her stomach clenched slightly. He was beautiful and funny and real. Not an expressionless body with a steel cock who could provide a mindless, thoughtless, no frills fuck. 

She remembered what he had said before she went into the shower. 

"How's your cable, Mulder?" 

"Just fine, Scully. How's your internet service provider?" 

She ignored him. "So, that means your air conditioner is not functioning?" 

He nodded. 

"No wonder you were having intimate relations with mine. How could you not have a working air conditioner in the middle of summer?" 

"Because it wasn't quite this hot when we left town. I figured we'd come back and I'd buy a new one before the next heat wave hit. It's okay. I'll be fine. The health club pool opens at 5:30." 

She felt the color rise to her cheeks over the thought of Mulder in the pool. The reasonable side of her began to scold. 

Mulder would never sit naked on some filthy steps. He'd never yank her nude body out of the water and impale her in public. Hell, he'd probably never even do that in private. And all the things _she_ did in that dream? Nuh-uh. 

Besides, the real Mulder would never be a body without expression. Behind his sometimes poker-face, was a man filled with passion who went into everything with all his heart, mind, body and soul. Being with him would be far too frightening at this time of their lives. Which is why she occasionally needed dream Mulder to take up the slack. There wasn't the least bit of emotion in dream Mulder. Just a sexy body. Nothing to confound or astound her. Just a quick release. 

"Scully? Earth to Scully?" 

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking." 

"Do you have some sort of sleep disorder I should be aware of?" 

"No." She shook herself. Dream Mulder was convenient and useful but definitely had no place in a room when the real thing was there. "Of course not. And--no pool. There's no need. Go downstairs and grab your bag from the car. You're staying here. I'll even let you have the living room so you and ... " she looked down at the vent " _it_ can be alone." 

He gave her a wry smile and crossed the room to her front door. He turned back. 

"What was your nightmare about, Scully?" 

She looked at him--standing in her doorway--his expression open and curious. 

"I never said it was a nightmare, Mulder." 

She was rewarded by another full out smile before he turned and left to pick up his bag. 

She sat down and closed her eyes; reveling in the cool, clean air in her apartment--anticipating the warmth of having Mulder as a short-term houseguest. Sometimes, it was the simple pleasures of life that were the greatest. 

But Scully never could do simple. 

She remembered a simple song in school that she pondered over for hours. "Life is but a dream?" How can it be if people were conscious for sixteen out of the twenty-four hours of the day? And even when asleep, dreams only occurred during certain cycles. 

Sex dreams were just sex dreams? And her true relationship with Mulder was far more complicated but could remain fairly simple on an interpersonal/romantic level until it was mutually decided it was beneficial to make a change? All well and good. 

Until Scully remembered two sounds she clearly heard herself making before she woke fully. Two sounds she was pretty sure were not just part of a dream, but had crossed the boundary into real life. Two sounds that Mulder had been witness to and she had just confirmed were not the result of a nightmare. 

One was the sound of a moan, which had immediately followed the one word that exposed all her mysteries: 

"Mulder." 

She heard his footsteps as they came down the hall. 

He wouldn't mention it. She was pretty sure of that. 

But if Mulder should break the rules of the game they both played--if he should be so bold and out of character--she would have only two words to say to him in response: 

"Ignore it." 

The End. 

This bit of freakiness was brought to you by the overheated mind of Gina Rain in an un-airconditioned room.   
  


#### If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Gina Rain


End file.
